SAN FRANCISCO, CA — It’s been no secret that computer gamers yearn for women, but it may come as a surprise to some to learn that the industry itself is keen for the feminine touch — on its keyboards and control pads, of course.”Right now, the market targets mainly straight white guys,” Brenda Brathwaite, chair of the International Game Developers Association sex special interest group during this week’s Game Developers’ Conference in San Francisco. “And straight white guys aren’t the only ones having sex.”

Brathwaite moderated a lively roundtable discussion about sex in videogames during the conference, that included conversations about whether or not women — having sex in their offline lives or not — necessarily want to only be having sex while online or immersed in a gaming experience.

According to CNET.co.uk, one female participant indicated that when she plays an adult game, she wants “to do more than log in and have sex,” pointing out that if she wants to do that she could “log onto a sex site.”

Indeed, the wham-bam/thank-you-ma’am approach to sexuality may not work for women or, for that fact, all men. Brathwaite proposed that game designers eager to court women, their money, and the male gaming admirers likely to follow, would do well to pay attention to what erotic game-friendly women have to say and remember that for many, “It’s the thrill of the chase,” meaning that the lead-up to intercourse holds wide appeal for women, even during virtual sex encounters.

Attendees of the conference’s roundtable also indicated that gay and lesbian gamers feel that they are underserved by the adult gaming industry, with some conjecturing that part of the problem may well be the more complex animation requirements involved in replicating same-sex intimacy.

The list of adult games marketed toward both sexes is increasing, but the industry is still heavily weighed toward the straight male demographic, with titles like Playboy: The Mansion, the Leisure Suit Larry, series, an assortment of virtual sex titles featuring major porn celebrities, and the soon-to-be-released Naughty America.

Games such as Second Life and World of Warcraft have been easy for users to adapt to include sexual interludes, regardless of sex, but clearly aren’t quite the same thing as a full-fledged virtual sex gaming encounter.

Brad Abram, president of XStream3D, publisher of Virtually Jenna, contends that half of his games’ players are likely women, thanks to the game’s inclusion of a storyline, its customizable genitals, and something Abram calls “ass physics,” and which relates to the firmness of a male player’s butt cheeks.
“We’re evolving story like Penthouse Forum,” Abran was quoted on CNET, “and you finish it off, so it gets more cerebral.”

Regardless of the condition of their “ass physics,” getting more cerebral appears to be less appealing to male consumers, who want a quick and easy way to get under their virtual date’s panties, something most gamer gals would apparently like to see men work a little harder to accomplish — kinda like in real life.

Just to make things even more complex, the virtual bee dance is different when men look for cyber sex encounters with one another. “The way that men interact with men differs from how men interact with women,” explains Naughty America producer Noah Dudley. “So, if we’re going to deal with gay sex, which we do, then the amount of work we have to do” increases accordingly.

Hopefully, so will the profits.